Retail POS and E-Commerce

As more and more retailers realize they need to have an e-commerce solution, they encounter the task of finding (or replacing) both a POS system and an e-commerce (or shopping cart) platform that integrates with their POS system.

I've had quite a few calls and emails about this over the last month or so - thus this post with some general advice:

1. You will find that most retail POS systems only work with certain e-commerce site and vice versa. It is not a universal solution in most cases. Be prepared for this and realize that your choice of POS software may dictate the e-commerce options available to you (or vice versa).
2. There are some exceptions but the complexity of a POS system usually drives the e-commerce options.
3. Custom development of an e-commerce site may be an option for retailers who have a large online presence.

So, when searching, you need to weigh in on were your sales come from as well as your POS and e-commerce "wish lists" for features and functions.  If you find that most of your sales come from in-store sales, then weigh more heavily finding a great POS system. If online sales bring in the most revenue, then spend time finding the best e-commerce platform. 

Retailers whose online sales are fairly small (less than 3 to 5 orders per day), may find it easier to not have the POS system and the e-commerce site share inventory and customer information.

Each situation is somewhat unique so please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com with any questions or personalized advice.

New Merchant Services Options for QuickBooks Point of Sale

As you know, I used to sell and support QuickBooks point of sale - I even still have a demo copy of the software on one of my laptops. QuickBooks point of sale is a simple and easy to install and use point of sale software program for lower volume retail stores and museums. My main complaint about QuickBooks POS was that you had to use Intuit for merchant services (or a separate credit card terminal).

That is no longer the case as there are now third party gateways that work with QuickBooks POS for merchant services (credit and debit card processing). This only applies to the non-cloud version of QuickBooks POS and is being offered by a reputable merchant services company.

Call (208-340-5632) or email (kevinantosh@gmail.com) me for more information and I can connect you with the correct person who has more details on costs and equipment options.

TSYS SHA2 Deadline: What Microsoft RMS Users Need to Know

Wow - lots of calls and emails the last couple of days asking about the looming January 1st, 2017 SHA2 compliance deadline and what options are available for retailers using the Microsoft RMS point of sale software. It appears that TSYS and possibly First Data are pushing for compliance via the companies that use the TSYS and First Data platforms for merchant services.

First off - this is actually a good thing from a security standpoint as many retailers have held off on implementing EMV/Chip Card solutions and/or are still using Windows XP. Given the calls that I have been receiving about EMV fraud, the time has come to move forward with putting in the equipment to process EMV/Chip Cards.

I would strongly recommend that retailers using the Microsoft RMS point of sale software move to Windows 7. Windows 10 is possible with some help from myself or another Microsoft Dynamics RMS Partner. Skip Windows 8 or 8.1.

When it comes to retailers using the Microsoft RMS point of sale software, you have several options to meet the SHA2 deadline. My, advice (in order of preference) is the following:

1. Implement Card Defender for Microsoft RMS: Card Defender solves your security issues and allows for both EMV/Chip Card processing and NFC (Apple Pay and Google Wallet) processing as an integrated add-on for Microsoft RMS .  Card Defender does not add any gateway or per-transaction fees above what your merchant services company charges, is processor agnostic (TSYS, First Data, and Heartland), and requires no contracts. Visit this page on my blog for more information on Card Defender or contact me for more information - I've already had 5 retailers using RMS contact me in just the last 2 days about Card Defender so it is clear that the is upcoming deadline is being taken seriously. 
2. Vantiv/Mercury, Shift 4, Heartland and Cayan/Merchants Warehouse also offer some EMV/Chip Card add-ons/payment gateways/payment tunnels for Microsoft RMS. Generally I have found that these solutions are more expensive than Card Defender in the long run (1+ years) due to additional per-transaction fees and/or locking you into a contract using only one company for merchant services (which is another thing that I like about Card Defender - its keeps your merchant services provider honest when it comes to the rates and fees that they charge as they know that you can switch companies of you are unhappy while these other solutions basically lock you in). 
3. Use a separate credit card terminal that does not interface with the Microsoft RMS software. While this is the easiest and lowest cost option, keep in mind that you will be reconciling two reports at the end of each day and you open up the system to human error when entering the total on the credit card terminal (for example: a transaction totaling $15.20 could be entered as $1.52 or $152.00 - not fun to have have to track a customer down to correct the error).

All in all - there are plenty of options that allow Microsoft RMS point of sale software users to keep using RMS and meet the SHA2 deadline. Do contact me with any questions or clarifications.

Point of Sale Trends - Who Wants to Sell to You & What Are Your Options?

I have taken some time to chat with different point of sale dealers/partners that have physical presences and sell point of sale systems both online and locally. There are some noteworthy trends taking place related to business plans, solutions, and target market segments that might be of interest to you. I will break it down by gross annual sales volume so you can skip to the section that applies to your business or organization. Note that this applies to everyone and is not just specific to retail stores, museums, restaurants, bars, concession stands, venues, or similar.

Under $100,000 in Gross Annual Sales:

• Cash Register
• Square

Basically businesses and organizations with this low of a sales volume really can't afford to spend much more than $200-$1500 on a cash register or point of sale system.  Most of these cash register and point of sale solutions are found online but some areas do have local dealers but plan on paying an additional hourly labor rate for any onsite training, setup, or support services. Most companies that I spoke with prefer that these systems be sold online and direct to the end user.

$100,000 to $300,000 in Gross Annual Sales:

• Cash Register
• Tablet/Mobile Point of Sale System
• Point of Sale System with a Monthly "pay as you use it" Fee

This segment of the market has become increasingly competitive with numerous iOS, Android, and even Windows systems on the market designed to run on mobile devices like tablets and smart phones. Nearly all of these systems use a "pay as you use it" pricing plan which is easy on your budget (think of it as another utility bill) and normally includes support and updates in the monthly fee.   Most companies that I spoke with prefer that these systems be sold online and direct to the end user.

Make sure that you watch out for hidden fees in the contracts and ensure that your EMV hardware needs will be taken care of since our EMV Liability shift date is coming up in October 2015.  Also make sure that you are working with something that does not lock you in to a long term merchant services contract as this will cost you dearly in the long run.

$300,000 to $800,000 in Gross Annual Sales:

• Tablet/Mobile Point of Sale System
• Bundled Computer Based Point of Sale System 

You folks are in a tough position. Your business may have feature/function needs that require more that what the tablet or mobile point of sale systems offer but you likely don't have $8,000 - $20,000 to spend on a full blown computer based point of sale system. You may also have noticed that your local point of sale dealer/partner is only interested in working with businesses with multiple locations and not single location businesses.  This is due to the simple reason that selling mobile point of sale solutions with monthly "pay as you use it" pricing plans or $8,000 computer based point of sale systems don't generate any profit while selling $20,000+ point of sale systems to large single location businesses or business with multiple locations does generate a profit.

You will likely be able to find online point of sale companies willing to sell you a 'bundled' system online and then you take care of setting up the system yourself or hire a local technician.

To be honest - many of the point of sale companies, partners, VAR's and dealerships that I spoke with are not planning on providing anything for this segment of the market. I understand the reasoning but it seems like this is leaving folks with these sizes of businesses and organizations with limited options - especially if any sort of onsite services are needed.

Hopefully someone will come up with the right type of solution that offers all the features/functions that businesses and organizations in this market segment need as well as any onsite support services. I was part of a company that launched $2995.00 bundled point of sale systems in the late 1990's so I'm sure that a $5995.00 bundled system would sell well today and you simply add on optional bundles for services like training, onsite setup, and ongoing support/

$800,000+ in Gross Annual Sales:

Basically - anyone and everyone with a point of sale system wants to work with you. Unless you have real basic technology needs, you will likely want to go through a local point of sale dealer/partner who can sit down with you to learn more about your business and what you need in a point of sale system.  Make sure that you take time to find a system that meets your present and future needs as well as a point of sale partner/dealer that can provide the support and service that you need.

Overall Summary:

So, obviously, there are some market segments that are likely going to be under-served for the time being while other segments will be receiving lots of cold calls from salespeople!

The good news is that I don't care what your volume is. I have worked with business and organizations with 1 location and annual gross sales as low as $18,000 to chains with several hundred locations and multi-million dollar per location annual gross sales.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

What Microsoft Dynamics RMS Users are Doing

Update July 2016: Since many Microsoft RMS point of sale software would like to keep using RMS for another couple of years but still need to deal with the EMV Liability Shift Date, visit this post for more information on the Card Defender EMV add-on for Microsoft RMS versions 1.3 and higher (and HQ as well): http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/06/card-defender-emv-add-on-for-microsoft.html

Update July 2016, Retail Management Hero (RMS version 3.X) demo and overview: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/07/new-version-of-rmsretail-management.html

Updated information on Retail Management Hero as a direct replacement for RMS as of December 3rd, 2015: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/12/updated-information-on-new-retail.html

New video discussing options for Dynamics RMS and HQ users as of December 5th, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evVWS7dj0Bs

Update August 9th, 2015. I have now talked to over 740 stores using RMS. Since the upcoming October 1st 2015 EMV Liability Shift date is a big concern in conjunction with the 'end of life' status for RMS, here is blog post and video specific to the different EMV options for RMS users: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/options-for-microsoft-dynamics-rms-and.html

Updated information on the upcoming Retail Management Hero Software (or what I am coining "RMS 3.0 for 2015 and beyond") can be found here: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/new-option-for-rmshq-users-retail.html

I have another post (April 2015)  related to what RMS users are actually doing which can be found here.

As we know, Microsoft announced in May 2014 that the end of sales to new customers and mainstream support for Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Store Operations (RMS) will be July of 2016.  That may seem far away but we have a more pressing issue related to whether RMS will be updated to support EMV hardware by October 2015 which is the deadline for EMV in the US.  Because of this, many RMS users have already started to look at various options to replace RMS with a different solution.

Based on conversations with a lot of RMS users - including businesses and organizations with multiple locations using HQ - this is what I advise (this is also what folks have told me they are doing as well so it is great to obtain so much 'real world' feedback):

Single Location RMS Users:

• Taking a 'wait and see' approach if everything is running fine
• Actively searching for an RMS replacement if the system is not currently running or is old enough that the system needs to be replaced anyway

My recommendation to  single location users would be to at least think about replacing your RMS point of sale system. The biggest concern is that you may have to start using a separate credit and debit card terminal which opens the door to user error and also creates extra work since you have to reconcile two different close out reports each day.

RMS Users with HQ and/or Multiple Locations

• Many of you have already started the process of searching for something to replace RMS/HQ
• Some of you have started the process to switch to a mobile point of sale system to reduce up front costs while others want to stay with a more traditional computer-based point of sale system that may allow you to utilize your current computers and peripherals
• Writing your own internal point of sale solution (but several of you have contacted me as your internal system may not be ready for deployment by October of 2015 so you are also searching for short or long term solutions)

My recommendation to RMS users with multiple location and/or are using HQ is that you truly need to start looking now. The complexity of replacing a system for 5-500 stores requires some fairly extensive planning and you can't be left 'behind the curve'. Planning just means that have you have some options ready in case RMS is not EMV 'friendly' come October of next year.

Negative Sentiment towards Microsoft

Many of you have also stated your disappointment with the lack of communication from Microsoft as well as the lack of clear information on  good RMS/HQ replacements from Microsoft. Dynamics AX POS as well as Retail Essentials are marketed as possible replacements but folks seem to be 'fed up' with Microsoft and not interested in either of these solutions (or really anything from Microsoft at this point).

Discounts for RMS and RMS HQ Users
There are some reputable point of sale companies offering various discounts for RMS and HQ users. In most cases your existing customer, vendor/supplies, and inventory information can be transferred from RMS to a new POS system.

If you are curious about the discounts  you can reach me using the contact form to the right, via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com, or on my cell at 208.340.5632.  I will be doing my best to stay on top of the RMS/HQ situation and will share advice and real world experience as information becomes available to me.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.